How would you know?

What a ridiculous generalization that is.

You assert that pilots who began flying in the late 80's had it rough and couldn't have made it in a career, yet this board (and airline cockpits) are full of pilots who did just that.

You assert that a working pilot should be single, but nearly everyone I know, myself included, is married. My wife stays at home, incidentally. She could work, but we have a family life, and she's comfortable with that, in our home, not single-bedroom apartment.

I flew long haul, and when I came home I didn't find a cleaned out house with legal documents on the counter. I came home to a wife who picked me up at the airport, and we went out to lunch, then dinner. We had a great life while I was on the road, and we still do when I'm out and about. The difference is that as a working aviator, I spend a lot more time at home and have a lot more opportunity to interact with my family than most people in the work place. Even on jobs that keep me away for a period of time, I'm still home a lot more, and when I'm home, it's not just for a few hours of the evening.

The better choice may be for you to stay single. You can't really say what's best for working pilots who didn't abandon their careers, because you wouldn't know about that.

At the entry rungs, finances are tight, there's no denying it. It seems that you never got past that point, and don't know what lies beyond. It's too bad, really, because the career can be very enjoyable and very beneficial for those who commit. You just didn't stick around enough to find out, and now spend your time in false pretense to share your hollow expertise of what you suppose the industry to be.

But how would you know?